Sobra-sobrang kabuktutan at kawalang-hiyaan ito, TOP to BOTTOM, NATIONAL to LOCAL LEVEL, sa taumbayan at bansa - systemic, endemic kind of LEADERSHIP BY BAD EXAMPLE. Huwad na mga national political leaders exercising political power only because of sheer protection of the armed services, the military and police. Who'll say they're the legitimate, duly constituted authorities, when they are violators of the Constitution. They took only a sham Oath of Office to obey and defend the Constititution. They don't protect the interests of the people and the state. Bagkus pa niyuyurakan nila especially the basic value on honesty and integrity. Dahil sa ganitong sistema, no amount ang ethical standards, code of conduct and HONOR SYSTEM sa PMA, AFP & PNP, may mga naligaw ng landas. Yun kasi ang kalakaran ng nakakataas kono na political leadership system. Decades na itong ganitong kalintikan sistemang ito, asserting their bogus civilian supremacy over the armed services to serve their selfish interests..

But there's still chance - they reform, rectify themselves, ang mga naligaw ng landas sa militar at pulisya. Mahuhugasan ito if they conform with the winds of change for the better.

Remove this protection and these sham and corrupt political leaders are gone with thewinds . . . of revolutionary change for the betterment of our country that has been suffering from this kind of political bondage and from the decades old political and social malaise.

It's high time for the military and police, na binababoy lang ng mga pulitikong ito, ginagamit lang sa kanilang kabuktutan, na tanggalin ang kanilang korap at ganid na kapangyarihang pulitikal. Maliwanag sa Constitution, the armed services are mandated to serve and protect the interests of the people and country from all kinds of viciousness especially that of mandaraya, fake and corrupt leaders.

This is only a "single stroke of the pen" by the top and senior military-police leaderships, a mere announcement. It's a pronunciamento in the media, in alliance with the morally concerned leaders in the country. The majority members of the military and police, pati taumbayan na naghu-humiyaw na sa pagsulong ng makabago at rebolusyunaryong pagbabago ay mga magsisipagsunod, aayon na mawala na finally ang kabuktutan ng rehimeng ito, di lang ng kay Gloria, GMA, her political dynasty and her cohorts, pati na ang mga nakaraang dekada, na tigib ng SISTEMANG KAISIPAN ng kabulukan at kabuktutan.

This is the constitutional duty of the armed services, not to give continuing and further protection to illegitimate, dishonest and corrupt political system that tramples on the rights of the people especially the poor masses and low-salaried employees like the soldiers. Tito'66

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

He has been behind bars and has yet to set foot in the Senate since being elected last year. Yet, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV remains to be one of President Arroyo's harshest critics.

In an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News, he praised former House Speaker Jose de Venecia for his revelations on the government's controversial National Broadband Network project.

Trillanes says if former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis 'Chavit' Singson was the star witness in the impeachment case against former President Joseph Estrada, this is now the role of former House Speaker Jose de Venecia.

"It's a welcome development," Trillanes says, when asked what he thought of De Venecia's move to go against Arroyo. "The act of Gov. Chavit Singson, they were demonizing him, and yet, they welcomed him when he started revealing some things."

Trillanes also dared House members to support the new impeachment complaint against the president and prove they are pursuing the interest of the public.

If the House junks the latest impeachment complaint against Arroyo, Trillanes says, "The bottom line is, I will let the people decide kung saan nila gusto patungo ang ating bayan. Kung gusto nilang manatili si GMA even beyond 2010, it is up to them."

Trillanes says his vote was not sought in the recent leadership change in the Senate, but he says the new alliances won't have any effect on how the upper chamber works.

He believes Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile could change his position on any issue even if he is a Palace ally.

"People change, and remember, Senator Enrile turned his back also on Marcos," he says.

Trillanes also warns Malacañang should not be too confident even if the uprising at the Manila Peninsula hotel last year failed saying, it's difficult to gauge the sentiment of the masses.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Before the Filipino people, the raison d’etre for its existence, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is currently in a state of disgrace. This alienation is the price soldiers pay for the Original Sin committed by their senior officers, Esperon and his rogue accomplices, who allowed themselves to be “used” and in the process unconscionably got the institution involved in the massive electoral fraud in 2004.

Like Adam and Eve who were unable to resist the crafty snake’s temptation and ate from the Tree of Knowledge, Esperon and his self-aggrandizement group succumbed to the offers of immoral political leaders and helped themselves to the “tree of Garci.” But unlike the Garden of Eden’s original sin, Esperon’s partakes of a mortal character, not merely venial. It was a grievous criminal offense when he and his gang knowingly and willfully violated our election laws and thwarted the people’s sovereign political mandate. And being mortal, such stain cannot be cleansed by Baptismal waters alone. The sin can only be forgiven and the soldier reconciled with his people through a sincere Act of Contrition and the corresponding Acts of Penance.

To be redeemed from its complete separation from the Filipino people, for a start, the military needs to be honest with itself and be truthful to the country it has sworn to serve. The AFP needs to come out of it with a clean breast by admitting the fault, dealing with it squarely and helping initiate moves that would task those responsible to account for their illegal acts. Unfortunately, it is like wishing for the moon at this time; even a watered down version of the Mayuga Report has yet to be made public.

Meantime, a chasm of sinfulness and damnation continue to define the military’s relationship with the Filipino people and its estranged sons and daughters continue to suffer from the stigma of Esperon’s shameless act. Innocent soldiers continue to suffer and pay for the original crime. Some who stood up to be counted for the side of truth and justice ended up in detention and continue to languish in their cells to this day. Add to this the cases of involuntary disappearances, tortures, abuses, etc and you multiply and magnify the gulf between soldiers and civilians.

From accounts in the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden and condemned to perpetual harsh existence where they can only “eat bread from the sweat of their faces.” The serpent’s punishment, “on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life.” No such treatment for Esperon, his rotten crew and the big Anaconda, no matter how well they deserve it. The crooks in uniform were, to a man, amply rewarded for their “invaluable services” with promotions, incentives (including financial) and other perks. They’ve got it made! Their brows need no longer sweat. They were banished to paradise (juicy positions) after retirement. The political serpent is not crawling on its belly. It continues to lord it over the garden and abuse its hapless and downtrodden residents.

Only when the men in uniform and the Filipino people unite and act as one can the Biblical story rooted in crime and punishment come to full realization.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Image The country’s top business groups—the Makati Business Club (MBC) and the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP)—on Thursday issued a statement supporting the earlier call of five Catholic church leaders for a “new government.”

Echoing the five bishops’ statement that “the time to prepare a new government in now”, the business groups’ said: “We should now prepare for a new kind of governance.”

“We support the call of the five senior bishops led by Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo that the time for radical reforms to rebuild our country economically, socially and politically, and to conquer complacency, cynicism and apathy, is now,” the business groups said.

Lagdameo is the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Others who joined him in calling for a new government were: Balanga Bishop Socrates Villegas, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, Masbate Bishop Joel Baylon, and Legazpi Bishop-Emeritus Jose Sorra.

Among the members of MBC and MAP are the chief executive officers, chief operating officers, and top business executives of the country’s largest and most profitable corporations.

When the bishops made the call in October, they were criticized by administration allies for being “seditious.” Among them was Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, who interpreted the bishops’ statement as a call for the removal of President Arroyo.

When asked about the possibility that their statement may be interpreted as seditious, MBC executive director Alberto Lim told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak, “We don’t mean to be seditious.”Unabated Corruption

Like the bishops, the business groups also condemned the unabated corruption in government.

“Corruption is bad for business growth, employment and long-term survival. It worsens poverty, steals from the poor, compromises public order and safety, mocks the rule of law, encourages bureaucratic inefficiency, and destroys society's moral fabric,” the statement said.

“The dishonor of being the most corrupt in Asia and one of the worst in the world compels us to join the call for redemption,” it added.

When the Church made their statement in October, former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante was about to be deported to the Philippines.

Critics of President Arroyo urged Bolante to testify on the P728-million fertilizer fund that was allegedly misused to help finance President Arroyo’s election campaign in 2004.

Bolante has repeatedly denied this in congressional hearings. “There is no fertilizer fund scam,” he said at the House hearing last Tuesday.

The business groups lamented how no one has been made accountable for the high-profile corruption cases involving government officials.

“Suspects are, in fact, perceived as being protected and even rewarded. We cannot understand government's inability or refusal to wield its vast powers to prosecute the accused,” the statement said.

“We’ve been wanting to catch a big fish,” Lim said in a phone interview. “We regret that the big fish was let go,” he added, referring to the parole President Arroyo granted former President Estrada, who was convicted by the Sandiganbayan for plunder.

Early this year, at the height of the National Broadband Network (NBN)-ZTE Corp. deal controversy, some MBC members, including its chairman—Phinma’s Ramon del Rosario Jr.—joined calls for President Arroyo’s resignation.

MBC also supported in 2001 the successful ouster move against former President Joseph Estrada.JIL, too

The business groups also called on President Arroyo, senators and congressmen to “demonstrate their patriotism and have the courage to use the remaining 18 months of their term to do what is right for our country and our people.”

They also called on religious leaders, other business groups, and civil society to throw their support behind the bishops and told them “to not only speak out against wrongdoing but also do something about it.”

The Jesus Is Lord (JIL) movement’s Coalition for National Transformation is also a signatory to the MBC and MAP statement. (abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak)

Monday, November 17, 2008

ARCHBISHOP Angel Lagdameo yesterday called on Filipinos to start preparing for a new government, citing the need for transformation amid rampant state corruption.

Reading a prepared statement at a press conference, the Jaro (Iloilo) bishop said there is a real need to have a new government as the current one has been severely stricken by the "social and moral cancer" that is corruption.

"In response to the global economic crisis and the pitiful state of our country, the time to rebuild our country economically, socially, politically is now. The time to start radical reforms is now. The time for moral regeneration is now. The time to conquer complacency, cynicism and apathy and to prove that we have matured from our political disappointments is now. The time to prepare a new government is now," he said.

Asked if his statement is tantamount to calling for a public uprising to force President Arroyo to step down, Lagdameo said it is up to the people to decide what course of action to take."Kailangan ang taong bayan ay magsama-sama kung paano sila mag-response together dun sa sulat namin na sinabi naming communal discernment and communal action," he said in an interview.

Lagdameo clarified he was making the statement as a bishop and not as president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

During the press conference, he was flanked by four other prelates — Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, and Bishops Joel Baylon (Masbate) and Socrates Villegas (Balanga), and Bishop emeritus Jose Sorra.

Lagdameo said the presence of the four signifies their concurrence to his statement which he said was spurred by a letter sent to him by the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines.

The AMRSP letter said: "At this time when people are losing hope and are becoming cynical and apathetic, a prophetic word from you will be like a Pentecost event, a rekindling of hope and an inspiration and impetus to take active part on social transformation."

Lagdameo said corruption has been continuously growing despite repeated condemnation by the Catholic Church and calls for widespread reform.

"In the past few years up to today, we have watched how corruption has become endemic, massive, systemic and rampant in our politics. The faces and symptoms of corruption are overprized projects, multi-billion scams of various kinds, election manipulations, anomalous transactions, bribery of both high and low, unsolved murders of media practitioners. Corruption is a social and moral cancer," Lagdameo said.

He noted there have been at least three CBCP statements denouncing corruption.Lagdameo said he believes Arroyo is a corrupt leader and has done little in preparing for a new government that could make a transition away from a corrupt one.In his statement, Lagdameo said corruption is the reason the country could not get out of the quagmire it is in.

"Corruption impedes economic development, worsens income inequity and poverty, endangers public order and safety. Corruption results in bureaucratic inefficiency and demoralization," Lagdameo said.

The bishops said they are hopeful new leaders will emerge in the process of "liberating" the country from the claws of corruption.

"In spite of the seemingly hopeless and negative prognosis, our liberation may yet serendipitously happen. We are dreaming, praying and hoping that our country may yet have the liberators. Yes, liberators who will, in a courageous peaceful way, effectively and uncompromisingly reform our country," they said in the statement.

Cruz said corruption under the Arroyo administration is something that cannot be dealt with by the human justice system alone.

"Corruption in such an extensive degree in the Philippines is a crime that cries to heaven for vengeance. Corruption in this country has become endemic, systemic, from top to bottom in government. Perhaps they may be given the punishment they deserve by the human justice system, but that’s not enough. Someone else in the Higher Authority will punish them as they deserve," said Cruz, former CBCP president.

The known Arroyo critic said it was not too long ago when the President received the "distinction" of being the most corrupt president in the country’s history.

"Though our country is at the 11th place of the most corrupt from the bottom, we even have a gold medalist of corruption in our national leader. To say that the Malacañang occupant is a follower of corruption and not a leader in corruption is already asking too much. Perhaps, if this is said, it will take someone from the moon to believe that the head of corruption is down below and not above," Cruz said.

Villegas said they are hoping their statement will continuously bother the public.

"We are not here to bring you peace. We are here to disturb you. I’m praying to God that after this meeting, may the Lord trouble you because the trouble that comes from the Lord is going to make you a better person and it’s going to make the country a better country," said the protégé of Cardinal Jaime Sin, archbishop of Manila.

Villegas said that with the current state of the government, there must be very drastic and dramatic actions from each and every one.

"If we have been only half less corrupt, we would have more money to feed our children, more money to put up schools, more money to bring medicines to hospitals. The problem is not population. The problem is corruption. Just cut the corruption in half and we would have enough money to take care of the poor," Villegas said. – With Jocelyn Montemayor

That was one great statement that the Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, released yesterday. He practically called for the ouster of Gloria Arroyo.

Not in 2010 but now.

In a statement he read flanked by four other progressive-thinking bishops namely, Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz, Bataan Bishop Socrates Villegas, Masbate Bishop Joel Baylon, and Legazpi Bishop Emeritus Jose Sorra, Lagdameo said: "The time to start radical reforms is now. The time for moral regeneration is now. The time to conquer complacency, cynicism and apathy and to prove that we matured from our political disappointments is now. The time to prepare a new government is now. "

In the open forum, Lagdameo said Gloria Arroyo is not capable of instituting reforms because he said, "I believe that the President is corrupt."

The question and answer portion with Bishop Cruz was fascinating. Asked if Arroyo can lead the radical reforms, he replied, "Siempre hindi."

Q: How about Vice President Noli de Castro?Cruz: Walang ganyanan.

Q: How about Senate President Manny Villar?Cruz: Walang ganyanan.

Q: How about House Speaker Prospero Nograles?Cruz: Walang ganyanan.

Q: How about Chief Justice Reynato Puno?Cruz: Pwede.

Q: How about AFP Chief Alexander Yano?Cruz: Okay yun.

Q: Have you met with General Yano?Cruz: Tama na. tama na.

It is about time that leaders of the Catholic Church whose consciences haves not been numbed by Malacañang’s cash donations, do what they preach. They cannot be preaching "Thou shalt not steal" while closing their eyes on the thievery of Arroyo and her cohorts. Worse, accepting the fruits of Arroyo’s crimes.

Many Catholics have already given up on the CBCP when it comes to giving them guidance at this time when democratic institutions are degraded to protect Arroyo’s hold on power.Lagdameo and the four bishops seriously doubt there will be an election in 2010 despite Arroyo’s pledge there would be one.

Cruz said their sources say "Elections in 2010 is a big dream. In short, elections in 2010 up to this time that I’m talking, is a moral impossibility."

He asked the media to be on the alert when Congress opens on Nov. 10. "Charter change will be an open, public and well funded move in the Lower House. Whether it will triumph in the Senate is still debatable. But then I repeat, no more camouflage, no more double-talk, no more indirect insinuations. Charter change will be an honest-to-goodness agenda for Congress," he said.Arroyo’s Cha-cha, Cruz said, will be through a constitutional assembly. "The moment it passes the Lower House, and the moment it passes Senate and there is a plebiscite, then it is done, because the local governments are all at the command of Malacañang."

Cruz said the charter change that Arroyo is crusading "is not for patriotic reasons.""It is intended principally, basically and fundamentally to extend the term of office of the incumbent. I hope to God and I pray very dearly that I am wrong but that is what I know," he said.

MANILA, October 28, 2008—Jaro (Iloilo) Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo SAID more people has felt poorer and impoverished over the past few years.

Speaking before national and international media, religious men and women from various congregations Tuesday morning, the prelate said "twenty million hungry Filipinos will disagree with the often repeated government slogan "Ramdam ang Kaunlaran." He said the people’s own experience prove "Ramdam ang Kahirapan, Ramdam ang gutom."

He underscored the fact the biggest culprit and major cause of the country’s poverty and hunger is "the abuse and misuse of public or private institutions." The prelate quoting Asian Development Bank defined corruption as "the abuse and misuse of public or private office to unlawfully enrich oneself and those close to him, or induce others to do the same."

He said ordinary citizens have "watched how corruption has become endemic, massive, systemic and rampant in our politics." He said the faces and symptoms of corruption are overprized projects, multi-billion scams of various kinds, election manipulations, anomalous transactions, bribery of both high and low, unsolved murders of media practitioners.

He described corruption as "a social and moral cancer." Referring to corruption’s consequences, the prelate said in political elections corruptions damages political legitimacy, integrity and competence as it "impedes economic development, worsens income inequity and poverty and endangers public order and safety."

He said Transparency International tagged the country as the 11th most corrupt among 102 countries. "If we are not horrified, disgusted, exasperated and enraged by these realities, can we still say we love our country?" the prelate asked.

Archbishop Lagdameo said he agrees with columnist Conrado De Quiros who noted people identify themselves "so easily with the victims of pickpockets or snatchers and throw these small-time thieves to (almost) forever languish in prison.

"But when it comes to big-time crooks and public officials stealing billions upon billions of the people’s money, it takes forever to prove their crime," he further observed.

Archbishop Lagdameo said "there is much embarrassing hesitation and false respect to start mounting a campaign to show that corruption is the worst form of crime, because it kills the common good, it kills the poor, it kills the country" and "violates God’s commandments "Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not kill."

He cited the CBCP Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine Politics (September 16, 1997) which said "Philippine politics—the way it is practiced—has been most hurtful of us as a people. It is possibly the biggest bane in our life as a nation and the most pernicious obstacle to our achieving of full human development."

He said the CBCP statement entitled "Let Integrity Flow Like a Stream" released July 7, 2003 said "In the strongest term we condemn graft and corruption as an offense against society and sin against God. God will certainly hold the perpetrators accountable. To combat this evil we also proposed the formation of citizens’ councils to promote public awareness, to monitor the use of public funds, and to initiate charges against guilty officials."

He recalled the CBCP pastoral statement entitled Restoring Trust released July 10, 2005 said "Moral accountability calls for radical reforms in various agencies of government to make them more responsive to the requirements of integrity as well as the needs of the poor."

The CBCP’s latest statement entitled "Seeking the Truth, Restoring Integrity" released last February 26, 2008 said "We strongly condemn the continuing culture of corruption from the top to the bottom of our social and political order."

The Jaro prelate said "In response to the global economic crisis and the pitiful state of our country, the time to rebuild our country economically, socially, politically is now." He said it is important to begin radical reforms, moral regeneration soonest and "to conquer complacency and apathy and to prove that we have matured from our political disappointments is now." He added "The time to prepare a new government is now."

In closing he asked "who will pick up the broken, shattered pieces of our country, hurting from poverty and occupation, to make it whole again?" He said "our liberation may yet serendipitously happen."

Saturday, November 8, 2008

We, Junior Officers of the Philippine Army (PA), Philippine Air Force (PAF), Philippine Marines (PMar), Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Navy (PN) Fleet, are painfully aware that the supposed Constitutional foundations of this administration are grounded on illegitimacy, abuse and impunity.

We are aware that this administration has not only grabbed power in 2004 but has been abusing that stolen power for its own benefit;

We are aware that those who have positioned themselves in power are involved in rampant irregularities and criminal behavior, and the rule of law can no longer be expected to prevail.

We are aware that our government leaders function with little regard for conscience, moral scruples and the public good, yet when we demanded accountability, we were called de-stabilizers;

We are aware that as citizens are obliged to guard and protect a democracy where suffrage is the people’s right and not merely an exercise to be manipulated and prostituted.

We therefore has resolved to act on our Constitutional obligation to oust a usurper who has violated the sovereign will of the people;

We believe that it is our right and our duty to institute change in government by force or general uprising since all legal and Constitutional means have been thwarted, corrupted or rendered useless.

This being so, we are creating a new democratic nation where the sovereign will of the people will reign supreme and where the tyranny of money-driven leadership shall be a thing of the past. We are bringing back power to the true wielders of power: the Filipino people, who have been silenced, marginalized and disenfranchised by this cabal posing as government.

And to do so we will first sweep out this corrupt and murderous administration. The time to do it is NOW !